Ronnie O'Sullivan the 24-year-old from Chigwell arrives back home tonight with the China Open trophy in his suitcase. He also collected £50,000 in Shanghai yesterday by hammering Stephen Lee 9-2 in the final of the year's closing event. From 1-1, O'Sullivan swiftly rattled through six consecutive frames for a commanding 7-1 advantage. During this spell of excellence he fired in breaks of 87, 68, 75, 115, and 124 while outscoring Lee 610-94.
O’Sullivan has a new renewed determination to challenge for the world number one spot. “There's a big gap between myself and Mark Williams, Stephen Hendry and John Higgins so it's my job to try and bridge it”, O'Sullivan added. After numerous near misses - he has reached at least the quarter-finals of every competition entered this season - O'Sullivan finally ended 14 months without a trophy, stretching back to the Regal Scottish Masters in October last year. O’Sullivan is the first Englishman to win a ranking event in 11 attempts since Lee captured the Grand Prix title in October 1998.
At the next tournament on the snooker circuit, the Nations Cup at Reading's Hexagon Theatre in mid-January, O'Sullivan and Lee will join forces on an England team which also includes John Parrott and wild card selection Jimmy White.
